Nearly One Year Ago, Dean Lombardi Declared…

On September 11, 2010, at the L.A. Kings’ Fan Fest I asked Dean Lombardi about the CBA’s impact on his decision-making process. He answered:

You give anybody too much to chew, that person is not going to be the same in continuing to drive in being the best that he can be. And you put this system in place like they did with the NBA, and then you wonder why the best talents somehow get their way with it. Somehow they’re not focused anymore. Well who’s fault is that? How many of you would be focused in your line of work if all of a sudden at 22 years old you’ve got it all? And again, I had no problem with Joe Sakic and Patrick Roy getting their 10 million dollars; Those guys had 10 years in the league, they had proven they were winners, they had proven they were leaders, and god bless ‘em. But for some reason, we went out and said let’s make free agency 25, and then you have a team like Phoenix that’s one of the oldest teams in the league and has one of the lesser payrolls — it’s completely inverted. So, maybe I’m talking a little for selfish reasons too, though. But I think the product when you have players who have stayed together, come up the right way, they perform better, you get a better team, you can get a better product. The other thing for our game, that I think is critical and not only because it is what we believe in in building a team, and keeping young athletes together so they not only become the best they can be, but they become teammates and they like each other and stay together for years.

That was nearly one year ago.

Ironic isn’t it that a 21-year-old kid with 3 seasons, 239 games, 33 goals and 93 career points now commands the hockey world’s attention while his agent blusters his client’s path toward the highest paid player on our Los Angeles Kings? Be it 5, 7 or the compromised 6 year offer, over or a few bills below $7 million, everything Dean Lombardi declared has driven the discussions that started in June and steadily converge to a close.

Drew is poised ready to chew more than he has earned and many, Dean especially, share the uneasy disquiet about his drive to be the best he can be once he receives the prize potential pays. The best talent beguiles with smiles his way both with and through the process until he succeeds and our eyes then turn to Doughty’s focus.

Fault?

There is no fault.

Unproven as a winner, as a leader, the payday comes for the blossom and not the bloom, a burgeoning promise more than years of merit and, even then, what Drew desires is not a bounty that will keep him a Los Angeles King for many years so that he and the core can remain together, come up the right way, perform better and get a better team or product. He chases a contract of profound pay until he arrives to unrestricted free agency in search of a loftier benevolence.

66 replies

As much as I hate to say at, I feel Drew will be booed by myself and kings fans alike for all the unnecessary stress and anxiety he’s given to kings fans this off-season. I hope for the sake of the kings as well as for himself, he performs up to all the hype or he may be placing his entire career in jeopardy of not living up to the expectation and anticipation he created for himself during these past few months. One thing is for sure, we will be in a hard fought fight for the cup this season and for seasons to come with our without him so Drew you are either with us,or you’re against us, choose your destiny.

If DL’s not mad, how can you think of even booing DD for your percieved anxiety by the Kings. Fans mybe, but the Kings have not released anything negative in the press that even hints at a war. In fact! DL’s confident a deal will get done.

I strenuously disagree. With this fat contract he gonna get, his play should be commensurate with his dollars. I would argue (similar to what DL is saying) that he has not earned it. Going forward he better earn it. In essence he will have to realize the “potential” that he is being paid for.

As part of that, whenever he fucks up (e.g. misses a hip check that results in a goal), he should hear it from the fans. Honestly, he should be expected to be an elite player. I am not sure how focussed and mature he is, and to Dean’s point, players should be remunerated for helping their teams win championships. Sounds hard nosed (no not bitter), but this is the expectation set when you posture yourself as greedy, even if you hide behind your agent.

I will certainly cheer when he makes good plays. I want him to do well…

Steve, you won’t feel that way once this is done and the season starts. I am sure Drew will feel the pressure of his contract and he will in time rise to the occasion or be another tragic tale of too much, too soon. I don’t expect him to become a 30 year old version of Lidstrom just because he is paid like him anymore than I expect a young CEO to control the board room and seamlessly head a company to fortune 500 land starting day 1 of the new position. There will be a learning curve and money won’t make Drew make better decisions on the ice. Lombardi’s comments play less to the player and more to the inverted system in place. There is no fault. That is the premise of his statements and my article. It does however cause a sense of entitlement before that merit is earned. That is just as risky for the player as it is for the club. Remember, the Kings can just trade him before he hits UFA status. Once this contract is done, suck it up, forget about it and focus on your job – supporting the team to victory through the good times and inevitable rough waters all teams face in pursuit of the Cup.

If he has not earned it yet, then don’t ask for control of 9 years of his life, based on what he has earned now. Anything over 5 years and the deal should change. DL wants long term. He’s revised the years and money a little lately, but if DL wants to keep him till 2020, then don’t offer money that’s good for 2011. DD would have to be an idiot to sign, and I don’t want idiots here forever.

Very good point Dom. One aspect of this you may miss. A long term deal strikes a compromise between Doughty and LA’s position. Doughty wants big money based on the factors we have already addressed. Dean has said, ok, I will show you the money but I want your long term commitment in addition to it. Drew’s agent has said, I want the money and a short term deal so I can play in UFA land. The latter only benefits Doughty. The former benefits both. There are risks associated with both but IF Doughty reaches (even tickles) his potential, the short term deal Fs the Kings whereas the long term deal presents an acceptable benefit of keeping their potential superstar longer.

Another way to look at it is DD’s side is saying, O.K. if you show us the money, but we want gaurentees your not going to dump the contract in 6 years. If you want me for 9 years, and you want my commitment then you get me for the life of the contract. DL can’t have his cake and eat it too. DL wants long term, but freedom to move the contract later as he see’s fit. If moneys the only thing stopping a long term deal, then DD loses out if he signs it.

Yes. :) Long term.
No short term.
I still believe the hold up is about control, not money, and who has it in when DD hits 25 through 30. DL has already offered Kopitar money, and ended up tweeking the offer to break it up into different offers for different years. I say it’s because the more control DL gets the more he’ll pay. The less control, the less he’ll pay. Meehan could of already jacked up the price if money was the issue, and started the bidding war, but he hasn’t.

You should do an article on what Meehan does want, instead of what everybody percieves is the case because he’s a bloodsucker by trade. So far Meehan hasn’t made any of his intensions for his client known, and has made no attempt to raise the price with a counter offer.

Drew will not be booed by Kings fans. What are we flyers fans? I agree that he is to be paid based on potential he has not yet reached. And as much as i’d love for him to take a home team disscount, that’s not what sports agents are hired for. He’ll get his 6.5 million per season. He’ll have a bounce back season and hopefully solidify our blue line scoring for years to come. Once he puts the puck in the net (which he will) the boo birds will turn to the familiar “Drew” and all will be happy in LA. Is his contract nagotiations stressful on the LA faithful, sure. But can we really blame the guy for trying to get as much as he can? We buy season tickets in order to see our team perform, succeed. Not to watch our home grown talent sign or be traded elsewhere. Let’s not turn this healthy franchise into the Dodgers of late. Doughty must stay, and must help us take the next step to bringing a Cup to LA. GKG!

Someone brought up the missed hipcheck against Couture. Doughty has had one elite season, and is now going to get paid like he’s already had ten. However, the one area where he hasn’t even been elite for one season, or at all, is in defending 1 on 1 against the rush. He’s not even average, he’s below average. I love Doughty but he has one big glaring weakness and it’s defending 1 on 1. Players don’t even have to do anything, he just freaks out and messes up. Patrick Marleau, for all his speed, is not a 1 on 1 player, but every time he got the puck on the wing, Doughty just freaked out and went to go make a hipcheck, or do something drastic, when all he had to do was sit back in position and contain him. The same happened on that Couture play. What exactly did Couture even do? Did he make some great deke? No. He just skated up the wing in a straight line, Doughty went way out of position for an all or nothing attempt to pin him against the wall, so Couture just angled away and went around easily. This is a big weakness and I see it over and over again with Doughty. So before he gets on with ten seasons of living up to an elite contract and becoming a legendary player, he should probably work on just getting up to NHL level in that area.

Apparently you forgot the multiple times in 09-10 when he shut down 1-on-1 or even outnumbered rushes with ease. He did it several times, including 2-on-1s by Perry-Getzlaf, and the highly memorable one on the brothers Sedin in the playoffs.

So DD should give 10 years? If DL is asking for 10 years then DD should just sign, without asking “what about pay raises”? Your logic is “your worth this much now, so sign for the next 9 at that price”.

“But I think the product when you have players who have stayed together, come up the right way, they perform better, you get a better team, you can get a better product. The other thing for our game, that I think is critical and not only because it is what we believe in in building a team, and keeping young athletes together so they not only become the best they can be, but they become teammates and they like each other and stay together for years.”

… This is all nice for Lombardi to say, but he obviously doesn’t believe this is true because he had an opportunity to have this in his own organization, and chose otherwise.

And of COURSE people will boo Drew Doughty. This is what some Kings’ fans just do. And, there doesn’t have to be a reason. They didn’t need a reason to start booing Rob Blake a little over a decade ago, did they? Some fans just can’t wait to turn on their own players, and they’ll see this situation as their chance. It’s somewhat like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, where certain people are willing to get up and boo in order to get others to notice them. “Look at me! I’m a REAL fan! How dare this young player actually negotiate with the team through his agent? He should just fall in line and sign what management puts in front of him – without thinking about it!”

I actually agree with JT. Why on earth would anyone boo Doughty? Because his deal is more complicated and is taking a little longer than usual? Because his agent is trying to get him the best deal possible? I have news for you Kings fans that want to boo him. With an attitude like that towards your own players, it won’t be long before it gets around the league to other players and they have another reason to not want to sign here. Grow up people, this is going to be a great year with or without you. We don’t need you running one of our best players out of town because YOU don’t like the fact that he doesn’t have a deal yet.

A) Simmonds was not the glue that held the philosophy of young players coming up together… Together. Schenn wasn’t a part of anything yet, so trading him doesn’t have anything to do with it. If you are referring to anyone else, like Moulson or Purcell or Boyle or Cammy… Well my friend, might i suggest an approach to life that falls somewhere between all or nothing. Trading away a kid or two, or a kid or two not panning out on this team, does not mean the kids aren’t coming up together. Quick, Kopi, Brown,Martinez, Lewis,Clifford, doughty, Johnson, Bernier have all come up together. Greene was a young guy when he came here. Richards is still a young guy who will now start to come along with the Kings, he is going to be here for a long time. Coming up together doesn’t mean that everyone who was here when that philosophy was put in place will stay a King forever. It is a constantly changing thing, with the most important pieces-Kopi, Doughty, Johnson, Brown and one of Quick/Bernier- renaming consistently together. The rest is subject to change and that change does not intrinsically break from the philosophy you think Lombardi has broken away from.

The Kings have a very rich group of impact players who have come along together and now they have the auxiliary pieces necessary to turn their engines onto turbo. So again, if trading Simmonds and Schenn (which you didn’t say specifically, but I’m just positive you were thinking of) blows that all up for you, well then to be honest, I don’t think your actually thinking, but just emotionally reacting to a player you like and a player you were excited about being on a different team. You’ve been told before so I’ll tell you again, the moves Dean has made trading some young players for established talent was ALWAYS part of the plan and the philosophy.

B) some fans do enjoy booing players. It’s part of being a fan to some degree. The yang to the yin. You can’t have one extreme (loving your players ) without the other., this is a law of the universe, not a dig at anyone’s character. Just like how when so many of us kings fans see each other as a brotherhood, the opposite must also exist that some people like youself must have hostility towards his own fans.

C) Rob Blake is a cocksucker. And clearly a good one if you are still defending him. Hey-oooooh!

“Simmonds was not the glue that held the philosophy of young players coming up together… Together. Schenn wasn’t a part of anything yet, so trading him doesn’t have anything to do with it.”

… Simmonds was the most promising player Dean drafted who was already in the NHL, and Schenn was the most promising prospect Dean drafted who actually went through the Kings’ system. It would have spoken volumes to the other prospects within the organization to keep those two guys around … keep working, take advantage of your opportunities, and one day we will take a long look at you, too.

Instead, the message is … we’re grooming you to be very attractive pieces to trade away for the players we really wanted all along. Keep working, though! :)

… Brown was already up before this regime was in place, and the only reason he hasn’t been dealt off is because he signed a very Lombardi-friendly deal.

Martinez, Lewis, Clifford, Bernier … three fringe players and a backup goalie who’s likely to be traded away. Impressive. Of the top six forwards, two have been drafted by this team and one has come up through the Kings’ system. Of the top four defensemen, one has been drafted by this team and zero have come up through the Kings’ system.

So because a player is good enough to jump right into the NHL That means their team didn’t develop them? Who made up these bogus rules? The both started their NHL careers with the Kings. To me, that means the Kings are developing them. Their starting at a higher level than doesnt discount that. That’s like saying if you skip math 101 and jump into honors 102 that your school didn’t teach you anything. Once again your guidelines are suffocating.

Simmonds didn’t spend any time with Manchester or the Reign but you count him as a Kings developed player. What’s the difference? You are picking and choosing points to support and argument born out of your contempt for Lombardi, not from reason.

“Simmonds didn’t spend any time with Manchester or the Reign but you count him as a Kings developed player.”

… Actually I didn’t, he counted as a drafted player and probably was the best draft pick Dean’s ever made. But it doesn’t really matter at this point. We’ll just agree to disagree, as we usually do. I see your point, however.

“You are picking and choosing points to support and argument born out of your contempt for Lombardi”

… As long as he keeps shooting off his mouth about stuff he really isn’t putting into practice, and as long as his ego continues to dwarf his accomplishments, my contempt for him is going to continue. It’s not personal towards you or Bobby. I want to like Dean. I’ve liked a few of his trades, and a few of his free agent signings. I’ve made it clear that I don’t like what he’s done this off-season; I think that this “win now or else” mindset was the death of every Kings’ GM before him, and usually the “or else” seems to happen when it comes to the Kings. He’s opening the door for disappointment and more excuses (well we had a lot of injuries! No shit, you have a bunch of injury-prone players), in fact he’s courting disappointment if you ask me. Now, I’m not afraid to be wrong, and I’m not afraid to eat crow. I’ve done it before. Sometimes I’m right when I prognosticate and opine, and sometimes I’m wrong.

To me, Dean has to be loved for his results. He doesn’t give me much of a reason to love him for anything else.

Well where he truly disagree is on Dean practicing what he preaches. I think he is doing what he set out to do in how he is building the team. I see the plan being put into action and while There obviously is an ownership push to win now, I think That push has to come at somepoint. The Kings are realistically on the fringe of that. If you take a cautious approach then you see them as a little bit away and if you are optimistic you think that now is a great time for a win now push. But ultimately I would hope we can all agree that the push HAS to come sooner or later and there will always be an element of gambling involved when it is made.

As for Simmonds being the bws draft pick of Lombardi, I believe Clifford will be every bit as good as Simmonds, if not better, but of course only time will tell.

Wait, so Johnson and Doughty didn’t come up through the Kings minor league system, therefore they don’t count as examples of players developed under Lombardi, because they just hatched out of the womb as solid NHLers? You are aware, no doubt, that development still happens at the NHL level. If it’s your intention to dismiss the drafting of Doughty at #2 as a no-brainer, then I trust you have no comment on the off-board drafting of Hickey at #4… I mean either this stuff is that simple or it’s not.

You claim, “… Simmonds was the most promising player Dean drafted who was already in the NHL, and Schenn was the most promising prospect Dean drafted who actually went through the Kings’ system.” Doughty was/is undeniably the most promising player Dean drafted who was already in the NHL. Simmonds was right there with Clifford, Lewis, and Bernier (cue the 06 Al Murray baloney), and he was becoming less and less of an impact player every game of last season. Oh, yeah and this is great as well – Schenn, according to you, “was the most promising prospect Dean drafted who actually went through the Kings’ system.” Refresh my memory on how many games exactly Schenn played in the AHL? No, I remember. It was 12. I guess that counts as “going through the Kings system?” Cause I know you’re not counting the time he spent in a suit in Los Angeles, or as a member of the Brandon Wheat Kings, Saskatoon Blades, or Canada’s WJC program.

No reason to boo Rob Blake 10 years ago? Sorry if you didn’t keep up on that story at the time, but yeah, there was. But I guess that’s just those idiots doing what they do for no reason, whereas you criticizing Lombardi without the slightest hint of objectivity is really taking the higher ground.

As did I. You can say people were wrong to boo him, but you can’t say they all did it for no reason, at the exact same moment. My personal reason was that I felt his attempts to manipulate fan opinion were actually more gross and far reaching than those of Kings management. But please, let’s not go there again.

Kings fans had a great reason to boo Rob Blake. He left the team. If DD holds out for more money and eventually signs a deal with Colorado, I’ll boo him too. That’s not the case in this situation though. I’d only boo DD if he was wearing a different sweater.

I disagree with 3TeamFan 100%. Just because he missed one check doesnt make him a below average defender. The guy is GREAT at the one on one battles, espceially against the boards. Maybe you should ask Taylor Hall how Doughty is one on one? Better yet, just google it.

You guys are assuming most of the people at Staples will have paid attention to the negotiations, which I’m fairly certain a large majority have not. Maybe a little, but not to the point where they would boo Drew for getting a fat contract. If he holds out… Well then all bets are off, he would likely get plenty of flak from fans for that.

Drew hasn’t turned his situation into a public spectacle like Blake did. The situations are not really alike. Maybe a jack ass or two will boo Drew just for causing Him stress over the summer, but if Drew signs before the season starts, there will be two kinds of people at Staples- those who are relieved to see Drew on the ice and those who don’t understand why he wouldn’t be on the ice.

As for Drew’s play, it should be among the best in the league not because of his contract, but because that is what he is capable of and if he isn’t one of the best in the league then he is fucking up his end of the bargain, regardless of what dollar amount he signs for. I don’t care if he was forced to take a league minimum contract for two years, I would still expect him to be one of the league’s best players.

That’s because the year before, he was 1 of 3 best defenseman in the entire league, one of the most used defenseman in the entire league, was one of the best defenseman in the olympics, and won a gold medal in the olympics. When the season was over, he took the summer off, and regretted it all summer. The Kings didn’t keep tabs on him, because they didn’t realize he was burned out.

This summer the Kings have kept tabs, DD was not burned out to end the season, and has prepared well so far. Seems to me that DD, and the Kings learned a valuable lesson last summer, and will probably never repeat it.

It would be a shame to see someone that stated this is where he wanted to be, fuck around with the UFA market just for money. I think this is where pro-sports in general gets it all wrong.

No one seems to be reminding these folks of the reasons they started playing, or why they gave up social lives in their youth for practice and lack of sleep. It sure as shit wasn’t the money (at the time). It was all for the love of the game. The money should be an afterthought.

Should be, but isn’t.

I would love to see Mr. Doughty with the Kings crest on his sweater until he retires. That’s one of the many reasons I am a fan. If he isn’t having fun playing here, and wants to check out a different club for lots of money later on, who can blame him? I can’t.

I’d be willing to bet that the departure of Simmonds and Schenn showed young Drew that no matter how much potential you have, or what you can bring to the team, can and will be used as leverage to acquire different talents from other markets.

But then again, I’m half a case of beer deep, and have been in the sun all weekend, so I could be totally wrong. Did I even make a point? Meh, burgers are ready.

IMHO DD’s agent Mehan is the real Master of Puppets. This cockroach of an agent has to be feeding his client everything about how he’s a generational player, there’s nobody like him in the NHL (norris candidate at his age), blah blah blah. I believe he has pumped Drew’s tires so much this off season and convinced Drew to let him handle everything and it will all work out great for everyone. However Mehan being an agent, is acting on behalf of his own self interest which is the biggest possible $$$. I really think Izerman fleeced Mehan on the Stamkos deal so much so that The Fan radio hosts in Toronto called him on it and now he has to prove to himself and everyone else that he’s a great hockey agent. He is ruining Drew’s reputation in the process. Drew’s salary should be back loaded so that he is making @5.5-6mil for the first couple years then as he gets to 26-27 he’s being paid as one of the top defensemen in the league and there should not be a No-trade clause.

Meehan got everything he wanted with Stevie-Y. He got a great pay raise, and his client will be a Free agent in his second year of eligability. The 1 year that Stamkos has, is locked up so that Meehan can spend a year jacking up the price before ultimately testing the Free Agent waters. Stevie-Y will have to offer an insane amount of money in the last year to stop that, and he can’t trade Stamkos unless Stamkos approves the deal, so if Stamkos reaches Free Agency, Stevie-Y gets nothing. Stevie-Y will have nothing to bargain with, except money when Stamkos is in his last year of that contract.

DL will not give in that easy. That’s why he’s perfectly happy to just wait.

Wow good arguement here. As for me i cant wait to see drew back on the ice. I wont be one of the ones booing him cause there wont be anypoint. And i doubt anyonr will boo him once he levels the first winger with that devistating hipcheck. I believe some will boo him just cause they are jackasses. Cade in point i cant remember which game it was but quick left the net and let two epty nets goals go in. Incidentaly the fitst was doughtys mistake but it was appauling to hear the jeers quick got the rest of the game. I remember telling one person who was booing to leave and go to a dodger game if thats all he wants to do. I for one cant wait for drew to sign cant wait for camp cant wait for frozen fury and then the 2011/2012 season…bring on the season and bring on mr stanley go kings go

True but quick has so many times the rock that the team was anchored to that pulled through so many wins that we wouldnt have gotten without his solid play. He took a lil too ricky a move twoce that game but then was solid the rest of the game. Just pisses me off to see any fans degrade the team or any player without any cause. I love this team and cant wait for oct to be yelling my head off Go Kings Go

Some of you need to chill. We are going into the most exciting and promising season (probably) ever. DL and DD will get it done. I am almost positive that DD will be on the team introduction next sunday at hockey fest and all will be forgotten. Anyone who boos is a douche and does not belong among the 18118 “FANS” at staples (which will be sold out every night this year). If you are thinking of booing; stay home and give your ticket to a real fan. Our job as fans is to enjoy, cheer and provide a positive vibe in the building. Come October 18, I will forget everything that happened during the summer. We have all been thru hell the last few years with our team. Don’t forget who you are…KINGS FANS DAMN IT!…
and I’m pretty sure Surly and Scribe will agree with me: Section 315 rocks! I’m fortunate to sit behind these guys a few seats over. They are the epitome of true die-hards. Trust me: if they hear you boo: there will be hell to pay! ….GO KINGS!

Meehan’s just being a greedy s.o.b., and has gotten Doughty drunk on the thought of all that cash. It’s his big payday for Drew, and it won’t come around again for another 6-9 years. Drew has to ‘let ‘em drop’, be a man and make the final decision. If he wants to play and be a part of a potential championship team, he should be eager to sign a long term deal at a fair rate. Otherwise, he can go the route of every ego and money driven athlete and get paid ridiculous sums on a marginal team.

We can all express our opinions and thoughts,but the matter of the fact is.. Drew hasn’t sign yet and camp is coming up real fast. I feel there’s alot more going on that we aren’t being told or a deal would of be done by now. Now i don’t blame King’s fans being mad at Drew and i don’t blame others Kings sticking up for Drew.I just can’t see how both sides can they say ‘but i want to be a King’,or ‘we want him to be on our team’ and not being able work something out?.. IMO, $6.5 MIL. is a lot of money to turned down after saying ‘ I want to be King.. And not giving Drew a NMC ( which he wants ) after the management said that ‘ They want Drew on the team ‘ is not good on both sides… Hopefully this will come to an end soon